Pennsylvania Local District Justice Courts
Apr 4th, 2007 | By Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. | Category: Blogs, Criminal & TrafficThe Bucks County District Court system consists of 18 District Justices and 108 clerks.
A District Justice’s civil jurisdiction is up to $8,000 in civil cases (breaches of contract, accidents, business and professional persons suing for nonpayment of bills, private individuals suing other individuals in landlord/tenant matters, and other related civil conflicts.
District Justice jurisdiction in criminal cases involve everything from a parking violation to the initial phases in murder cases. All misdemeanor and felony violations are more commonly called court cases. These categories of cases are filed in the District Courts. In these cases, the defendants are arraigned, bail is set, defendants are advised of their rights, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled within 2 weeks. At the preliminary hearing, these court cases are either waived to the Court of Common Pleas by the defendant; or, after the hearing, they will be dismissed or bound over to court if a prima facia case is found.
As officers of the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System, District Justices may administer oaths and affirmations and take acknowledgments. District Justices also have the authority to perform marriages. Whether or not they choose to perform the ceremony is optional. There is no legal prescribed form for a wedding ceremony, so religious services and vows conform to the secular context in which they are used.
See the Bucks County Courts website here: http://www.buckscounty.org/courts/index.aspx
The preceding information was found at the Bucks County Courts website.
